| The Unexpected Success of ‘Introduction to the Devout Life’ |
,At our Living Jesus Chat Room this Sunday we will be talking about a letter written by Francis de Sales to Monseigneur Pierre de Villars, Archbishop of Vienne, written from Annecy around 15 February 1609.To prepare for our chat, please read the article, which is reproduced below, and review the questions at the end.Click for Living Jesus Chatroom  Photo by Kelly Sikkema on UnsplashMonseigneur,On the eighth of this month I received the letter you were kind enough to write to me on the twenty-fifth of the previous month, and I assure you that it is a long time since anything afforded me such great joy and honor; for my soul which has always revered yours with profound respect longed to find a worthy way to your favor by some such happy chance. But how could I entertain any hope of this, seeing that I am nailed and fixed to the spot among these mountains, and so unworthy of your consideration?And now in spite of all, God has been pleased to afford me this consolation for which I most humbly thank his goodness and feel obliged to you in acting with such condescension. In this way my poor little book [Introduction to the Devout Life] has borne great fruit, which indeed I did not expect; but on this sole account more than for any other fruit it has as yet borne, I will love and cherish it henceforth. You will not have failed to notice, Monseigneur, that this work was not done according to a plan thought out beforehand. It is a collection of notes which I had drawn up for a lady who asked for my direction; and it was done during the busy time of Lent when I was preaching twice a week. She showed the notes to Fr. Fourier, at that time rector of the College of Chambery and now of that at Avignon, whom she knew to be my great friend and to whom I myself often rendered account of my actions. It was he who urged me so strongly to have these notes published, that after having hastily looked through them and put them in order by means of a few little rearrangements, I sent the work to the printer: that is why it appeared before you in such poor shape. But since you favor it with your approbation as it is, I am planning–if it is ever reprinted–to put it into better shape and expand it by certain additions which will, in my opinion, make it more useful for the public and less unworthy of the favor which you have shown it.And since you exhort me, Monseigneur, to continue setting down whatever God prompts me to write for the edification of his Church, I should like to talk to you freely and openly about my intentions in this respect. There can be no doubt that I lack everything for undertaking works of great size and considerable scope, for I really have not the necessary mental equipment.And perhaps no bishop for a hundred miles around has to cope with such a tangled mass of affairs as I do; I am in a place where I have no access to books and to the personal contacts necessary for such a task. That is why, leaving great plans to great workmen, I have conceived the idea of certain small works less hard to write and nevertheless quite suited to the conditions of my life, a life which is dedicated and even consecrated to the service of my neighbor for the glory of God. I will tell you briefly what form these works are to take. I am planning to write a little book on The Love of God, not to treat the matter theoretically but in order to show the practice of it by the keeping of the commandments of the first table. This book is to be followed by another which is to show the practice of the same divine love in the following of the commandments of the second table, and the two together will be combined in one volume of about the right size, and easy to handle. I am also thinking of bringing out one day a little calendar or day-by-day book for the guidance of devout souls, in which I will outline holy occupations for every week of the year for Philothea.Besides that, I have some material for introducing beginners to the exercise of evangelical preaching which I would like to follow up with a methodical study for the conversion of heretics by holy preaching. In this last book I should like to demolish, by way of a practical method, all the most obvious and celebrated arguments of our adversaries, and that not only in a style that will instruct, but also move, so that the book will not only serve for the consolation of Catholics but for the conversion of heretics; and I intend to use towards this end some meditations I composed during my five years in the Chablais where the only books I had to help me in my preaching were the Bible and those of the great Bellarmine.This, Monseigneur, is what my modest zeal prompts me to do; and as this zeal is indeed not secundum scientiam, time, my scant leisure, the knowledge of my lack of capacity will all serve to modify it; although, to tell you the truth, your authority has considerably stimulated me by the favorable opinion you have given me of this first little book, about which, as I must also tell you, our Lord Bishop of Montpellier has written to me. He drew my attention to the fact that it is too hurried and condensed in certain places, and that I do not state my opinions in sufficient detail. In this I see he is certainly right; but as I only compiled this work for a person I often saw, I wrote briefly because I had the opportunity of expanding my remarks by word of mouth.The other thing he says is that considering this is a simple and first introduction, I take my Philothea too far; and that happened because the soul I was dealing with was already very virtuous, although she had had no taste as yet of the devout life; that is why she advanced very rapidly in a short time. Now I can easily remedy both these faults if ever the Introduction is reprinted, for in order to end where I began, the honor afforded to me by this book because it has opened up the way to your friendship, and your opinion that it will be profitable to souls, will be a reason for my loving it and doing it all the good I possibly can.But what will you say about me, Monseigneur, seeing me reveal my heart to you so freely and with so much naivete and confidence, as if I had really deserved the welcome you gave my work and the access to you that this affords? This is what I am like, Monseigneur, and your saintly charity gives me free trustfulness, and moreover makes me beg you by the mercy of our common goal and Saviour to go on extending your kindness to me as you are now doing, not only imparting the sweetness of your spirit to me, but also censuring me and drawing my attention to faults in every way that your love and zeal prompt you to do. I promise you that you will encounter a heart which is capable of receiving such favors, though unworthy of them.May God preserve you for a long time and prosper you in his grace, according to the wish of, Your very humble and very obedient servant,Francis, Bishop of Geneva. Reflections:The Introduction to the Devout Life is now a spiritual classic and a “must-read” for Catholics wanting to grow in their faith and devotion. How could it be, then, that St. Francis is surprised by its rising “success”?What do you think about the fact that the book originally started out as just a compilation of notes and reflections instead of something meticulously planned and organized?Related to that, when we read great works from saints, we tend to view them in a vacuum, and we forget about the process they had to go through to produce those works. It helps make the saints more human, so to speak. How can knowing this make the works more meaningful?Saint Francis was clearly writing his books for the spiritual edification of his readers. Today, especially, it is easy to focus on how successful a book will be and how much revenue it’ll generate, sometimes that determines whether a book will see the light of day. How can an author today strike the balance between writing something meaningful and simultaneously desiring/expecting some “success” from it?Saint Francis expresses gratitude to the Monseigneur for his feedback, constructive criticism, etc. What is it like seeing a saint talk about their need for growth and us realizing their saintliness was a process and not just a state of being they inherited?If you have read the Introduction to the Devout Life, how does it strike you? Do you find it helpful and relevant to your life today? What do you think about his frequent use of metaphors from nature, such as bees and honey, and his profound understanding of biblical texts? 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